The Sun. — London, England, 1864-03-24 00:00:00

THE WAR IN DENMARK. (From, he 7&ne3 Special Correspondent with the Danish Army.) MIDDLEFART, ISLAND OF FUNEN, March 16. I have been little more than foureand-twenty hours in Fredericia ; but I think I have quite done with it. The never-failing kindness of the officers at headquarters greatly contributed to expedite my business. They were any indefatigable companions in my rambles on foot; they mounted me, and gave Eve their assistance, as the best of guides, when I rode. On the evening of Monday I presented myself at headquarters, and was most kindly received by the chief of the Staff, Colonel Reich, who not only in the name of the Commander-in-Chief gave me full permission to view the place within and without, but personally commended me to an Artillery officer of high rank, who, as I said, put himself and his horses entirely at my service. I have said all this simply from a desire to convey to the English peo ple an idea of the high regard and benevolence with which the representatives of their press are treated by the Danes. The love of this people for England and the English has outlived all the sad vicissitudes of 1801 and 1807, and is not to be repulsed by the " cold shoulder" the English Government, accord ing to their views, has turned upon them in this their hour of trial and sore affliction. On leaving the Kolding-gate yesterday we soon came to that " Oversvommelse," or inundation, which, as I said, answer the purpose of a great out ward moat to the western line of bastions, and op poses an impassable barrier to any enemy attacking the fortress on this side. The great ditch is above an English mile in length, and its width sometimes exceeds 1,000 feet. It is too deep for either foot or horse to attempt to ford it, and as its dammed-up waters are fed by a perennial stream, rushing with arrowy swiftness through it, it is not greatly to be affected by the most prolonged summer drought. Wherever the moat is bridged over for the conve nience of the high roads or chaussees, the pass is guarded by batteries protected by solid trenches. Barely a short half mile beyond the flooded ground we left the foremost Danish pickets behind us, and had nothing between us and the Austro-Prussian outposts, which were nowhere visible at that mo ment, but which, we are assured, are always lurk ing in the woods in the vicinity of Stonstrup and Erritso—but a slender z one of debatable ground, across which rifle balls are frequently exchanged on either side. Upon leaving the King's or Northern Gate, almost in contact with the town bastions, you have the intrenched camp, occupying what was for merly the drilling-ground, and extending a trifle more than an English mile between the City Gate and the Trecide Wester Skov. That wood also is in possession, if not of any enemy's corps, at least of their patrols, who employ their time in closely watching the movements and vainly striving to disturb the works of the Danes. The intrenched camp of the Danes on this spot may be looked upon as a kind of second Dannewerk, and it was under taken, I believe, after the fall of that great national bulwark, and the retreat of its defenders to the narrower fields of action offered to them by Dybbol trenches and the bastions at Fredericia. The camp is strengthened on the land side by earthworks or batteries, provided with moat and palisade, and armed with cannon of a good large calibre ; a breastwork for the infantry runs also all along the line. The five forts or rarpparts are so constructed as to be invulnerable only in front. They are not only completely open behind, but have been so placed as to bo fully exposed to the fire from the town bastions ; so that even in the event of the enemy succeeding in possessing himself of one or of all of them, he would always be unable to hold them or lodge himself in them. Strong as the present reduced line of Fredericia is, it is certain that it has been seriously impaired, owing to the loss, on Tuesday last, of that second outward line which from Gudso followed a ravine crossing nearly the whole isthmus as far as Rands fiord, or Little Strand. By the occupation of Er ritso and Stonstrup, the Austro-.Prussians have not only advanced their patrols en the western side within little more than half an English mile from the city gate, but have also established themselves at Snoghoi and Sanddal-house, whence their artil lery command the Sound all across to Middiefart and Strib, and either have, or can at any moment, put at an end to all traffic and intercourse of the Dines between the coasts of Fanen and Jutland on this side. Had the Austro-Prussians been able to do what they did in 1840—Le., possess themselves of the ground now occupied by the Danish in trenched camp, Fredericia could have been com pletely blockaded by land and sea ; the same hos tile batteries which had power to bombard it from the north and west would also have been able to sink any vessel making for its harbour, either from the other side of the Sound or from the open sea. As it is, although the northern side is safe, and will b.; so as long as the Danes hold their intrenched camp, great annoyance may at any moment be occasioned both to the city and to the places across the Sound by the occupation by the enemy of Snoghoi and Sanddal-horse, on the western coast. I have told you that a few shells, thrown almost by way of a first experiment upon Strib and Middlefart, had the effect of frightening the population of these two places and determining their flight. Not a few of them have been to soma extent reassured by the subsequent silence, and have returned to their desolate homes ; but they all live like man placed at the mercy of a pitiless foe—prepared at any mos meat to seek refuge in some place of security to which the wisest of them have already removed their families, goods, chattels, and all they care for in the world. The Danes, however, are not a people to fear their enemies because they count them, or to allow their arm to be weakened by vague misgiving, or even by well-grounded apprehensions. They are not blind to the magnitude of their danger ; they do not undervalue their enemy. They look evil.in the face. They do their best as men, well knowing that no more is expected of them. I came back to this place to-day in the afternoon, desirous once more to see the Sound at its narrowest point, and to try to catch a glimpse of the Austro- Prussians, whose patrols, I was told, are daily show ing themselves along shore on the other side. I walked from Middlefart to Kongebro, or King's Pier, the very spot where the ferry crosses from Funen into Jutland when the sea is too rough to allow the usual traffic by Strib or Middlefart. I ascended the hill which further contracts the Strait for a short distance, and the brow of which com mands the opposite shore far and wide, and has lately been armed with well constructed batteries. had scarcely set my foot on the bill crest wheu I saw a score of Prussian hussars prancing gaily on the beach, their sabres glancing bravely in the bright evening sun, and their light chargers frisking and capering in the keen bracing air that betokened a frosty night. They were escorting some lumbering conveyances which might be heavy artillery or am munition. The Danes looked at them through spy glasses behind their trenches, and I asked them, by way of pleasantry, " whether they did not think their pieces could knock over a few of those cave hers for our entertainment." But they answered with some severity that " they were soldiers and not murderers, and left the shooting of pickets and of outpost sentinels to their uncivilised enemies, who seem to delight in such work and be proud of it." I had written thus far, and was preparing to sit d o wn to supper, when a friendly officer brought the ne ws that a brisk cannonade had begun at Dybbol on T c.o day, and had continued this day. Although I have not s lept in bed for t wo n i ghts at F re d er i c i a , b, cae ae no bed was to be had, I shall be off in a few to reach Sond er b org i n t h e course minutes , hoping of .to- morrow, or at the latest at Friday, when a sterner leaves Asse,ns for the Isle of Alsen. SONDERBORG, March 17. I left Middlefart last evening at 10, and making the best speed I could with post horses, reached As sena at 2 a.m., and continued my journey as far as Faaborg, where I arrived at 8, having thus crossed Funen in all its length in the course of the night. I was aware that no steamer would leave Assens till to-morrow, and I hoped to reach Sonderborg this day by chartering a fishing boat at Faaborg and crossing the Little Belt at Mernmark in Alsen, a place only eight miles distant from Sonderborg across the little isle. The night was bitterly cold, was from the east, consequently right against us, and as we tacked, and rowed, and toiled on our way, the boom of the cannon was wafted incessantly over the still waves, and the feathery smoke of gun- powder, and the wavy track of the shells, rose above . _ .he crest of the low hills forming the outline of the Little island, and told us that the work of destruc- Lion was in progress. For a man who had been baffled all his life in his desire to witness some im- portant scene of real warfare, and whose mission, moreover, was to be present at some such action and report upon it, my position of a distant spectator was sufficiently fretting. There was no other remedy than patience in the case, however, and I sat near the helm of the tub-like craft that conveyed me with such resignation as I could command, com menting upon the folly that had taken me away from Sonderborg at the only available opportunity, after in vain waiting for it more than six weeks, and mentally thanking the kind friends who had sent me on a fool's errand all the way to Jutland, with the vain hope that I should there see some- thing like that real game of war for an exhibition of which it was vain to look for an opportunity about the Dybbol position. When it pleased Heaven I at last came ashore at Mummark, but there fame had of course greatly exaggerated the terrors of the struggle now in pro gress; fearful stories were rife of the shells that showerel like rain at Sonderborg, and neither en treaties nor bribes, nor even threats, could procure me horses or carriage to get me over the eight miles distance that separated me from the long-coveted scene of action. Where there is a will there is a way, however, and in my case the will was so nn commonly strong that in about half an hour I:suc ceeded in getting on. The thunder of artillery rose in intensity as the sun sunk in the horizon, and at every brow of a hill we ascended at Tanslet, Horup, Vollerup, and Ulkebol, we could both see the flash and hear the boom, and follow the cloud of every shot as it lingered hazy and transparent on the still air of one of the purest skies that ever smiled in a frosty northern sunset. More dense and omi nous, other columns of smoke arose here and there over the vast landscape, and through these there gleamed the vivid flames which consumed the homes of the inoffensive peasantry. War in all the grim ness of its awful majesty was displayed before me as 1 advanced, and I had hardly alighted when some of the particulars of its havoc for the last three days were communicated to me. The fearful wind that had accompanied me to Funen and Jutland had done its work in Alsen and Sundewitt, and by drying the ground of the Prus sian lines had enabled those troops to accomplish their work, so that on the morning of Tuesday they were ready to unmask their batteries, and from the west of the peninsula of Broagerland, and from the heights of Ragebol, they opened fire on the left and right of the Danish position. Their main attacks were directed against the Dybbol bastions, but they found leisure to direct a score or so of shells upon the town of Sonderborg, some of which hit the Slot, or Castle, some fell on the houses and in the streets, but did, as I am assured, no harm to the inhabitants, The Prussians fired about 350 shots on Tuesday, 500 yesterday, and probably a larger number to-day. The bastions on the Dybbol position suffered no ma terial harm—none, at least, that could not imme diately be repaired. The lose of life was, however, severe on the part of the Danes; a shell entered one of the bloc►khouses the day before yesterday, and another yesterday. A few men and officers were killed and wounded by the first; by the second no less than 40. To-day, together with the cannonade, a general fight took place, during which the Prus sians advanced upon the position of Dybbol village and upon the height of Avnbjerg. The readers who have had the patience to run through the foregoing letters ought to be sufficiently familiar with the names of these places. The village of Dybbol lies on the right of the road, about ha 'f a mile beyond the bastions on Dybbol hill. The Prussians had at tempted to take the vi:lage on the 22:1 of last month, but had fallen back before the fire of the Danish bat teries, and the Danes had since taken up a position in its habitations and intrenched themselves in its ele vated churchyard. The defence was as obstinate as the attackwas violent,and the Dines reconquered lost ground by three successive charges. They had, ho N ever, to give way before overwhelming forces, and as the day closed the Prussians remained in posses sion. The same occurred on the height of the Avnbjerg, a hill rising on the left of the road, at about the same distance from the Danish bastions as Dybbol village, i.e., half an English mile; the summit was repeatedly taken and retaken on either side, but remained in the end in the power of the Prussians. It would be vain to disguise the im portance of this acquisition ; for were they able to maintain themselves in it in spite of the fire which will not fail to be directed against them from the bastions, had they power to rear batteries on its brow, they could undoubtedly keep up a tremend ous fire against the Danish bastions with terrible effect. You are aware that the weakness of the position of Dybbol was always the left, which was from the beginning open to the Prussian fire from the crest of Broagerland. That crest, however, rises at a considerable distance, and although the Prus sian cannon could from that distant spot reach Bas tion No. 7 of the Danes, three miles off, yet no very serious injury could be done ; no such damage as may be expected to accrue to the Danish position from the dangerous proximity of the Avnbj erg. Night put an end to the conflict of to-day, in spite of the brightest moonlight, but the struggle can be renewed to-morrow at daybreak, and no one can foresee with what result. The losses of the Danes have been severe, especially this day. At the time I telegraphed to you only 70 wounded had been brought in ; their number has since risen, as I am told, to 250, amongst them several officers. Colonel Streberg, of the Bth, is among the killed. Even as I am writing, at 2 o'clock after midnight, I hear a noise which seems very like the bursting of a shell within the town. Many of the inhabitants have fled, and I must have met hundreds of car riages loaded with persons and furniture on my way from Mummark. But by far the greatest number remain, women and children too. The Danish soldiers appear to be delighted at - the prospect of the commencement of real war, and they sing,— "Now will we light the foe again." The Wreck of the Desert Flower, OFFICIAL REPORT. shore. At daylight, or about 6 a.m., all the boats returned to the ship and took off the master and the remainder of the crew. When they left, the ship was full of water, and had heeled over to port, or seawards, Shortly after leaving the ship the longboat capsized in the rollers, and all hands were thrown out. Six men succeeded in getting on the bottom of the boat, and were taken off by the captain in the pinnace, but the chief mate and carpenter were drowned. The boats subsequently landed at Rosslaer-house, South Bay, near the entrance of Wexford River. In commenting upon the circumstances of this disaster, I find that the first error of the master consisted in his omission to heave the lead as he stood off shore, that he might have thereby verified his distance from the land at midnight before he wore round and stood back towards the shoals on the Irish coast. It is obvious that, had he done so, he would have found that he was not so far off the coast as he supposed ; for having stood off for 4 z hours,and then returned upon a nearly opposite course in one hour and five minutes, his ship was wrecked in shore of the Tuskar Light. It is much to be re gretted that masters of ships will continue to neglect to use the lead in passing up and down the Irish Channel, in spite of frequent warnings, and notwithstanding that well-marked oharts warn them of their danger. Had the lead been used in time in this case this large and valuable ship would not have been sacrificed, even taking into consideration the too westerley course he was steering to round the Tuskar after the tugboat cast her off. In pronouncing sentence upon the master, I have taken into consideration his age and long service, and refrained from cancelling his certificate of ser • vice, and compelling him to go up for a certificate of compe tency; but have, with the concurrence of the Nautical Assessors, suspended the certificate of Mr. "William Joseph Harvey for 12 calendar months from this date.--I have, _ _ _ T. S. RArrus, Police Magistrate. Liverpool, March 17, 1864. We concur in this report. HY. HARRIS, Nautical Aesessors, JOIIN Cow, TO THE LORDS OF THE COMMITTEE OF PRIVY COUNCIL TOR TRADE, My Lords,—l beg to report that I have held an official inquiry, assisted by Captains Harris and Cow, into the cir cumstances attending the loss of the ship Desert Flower on the morning of March 4, which took place on the Long Bank, off the coast of Ireland, in the vicinity of Wexford. The Desert Flower was a new ship, on her first voyage, bound from Liverpool to Calcutta, laden entirely with coal. She was built in St. John, N. 8., in the year 1863, registered at Liverpool of the burthen of 1,216 tons, owned by Messrs Ryland and Seddons, of that part, and was commanded by Mr Wm. J. Harvey, who held a certificate of service, which certificate was lost at the same time as the ship. The De sert Flower left Liverpool at noon on the 2d of this present month, and was towed 45 miles SW and by W from Holy head, where she was cast off by the tug at 1 p.m. on the 3d inst. Sail was made, and the ship proceeded down the Irish Channel, steering SW by W i W. with a south-easterly wind. At 7 p.m. the same day the Tuskar Light was made, bearing about WSW, or half a point on the starboard or lee bow, at a distance of two miles. The ship was then tacked, and stood off the land, heading about NE till near midnight. At this time she was wore round towards the land, and headed SW and by VT W, or WSW, going about three and a half knots an hour. At 1 a.m. the captain, for the first time, ordered a cast of the lead to be taken, which, after a little delay, in consequence of the lead-line fouling, gave 11 or 14 fathoms. This was quickly followed by ano ther cast in 10 fathoms. The master then went down to consult his chart, but, before doing so, desired one of the crew to call all hands up about ship. Before the master could return to the deck the ship struck heavily. Efforts were made to back her off with the sails, which proved in effectual. Within 10 minutes five feet of water were found in the well. The boats, all of which were stowed on board, were got out safely, and most of the crew betook themselves to them, leaving the master, chief and second mates, steward, and two hands on board. The tide, which was at that time flood, drifted the boats from the ship towards the and the roads were as hard with frost as in the hard- est winter. The morning was unspeakably bright but perfectly calm, and I spent no less than eight hours in crossing a branch of the sea hardly as many miles from:shore to shore. The coast of Als or Alsen was plainly visible, though dim and dusky, from the place of my embarkation. Such wind as we had THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 24, 1864. made a culvert for the pipes. Laying them in a trench is better, because in my judgment it is a more simple opera tion and more secure. In case of accident a culvert would give readier access for repair, but with much greater liability to accident. I can hardly tell the pressure of water on the valve when the reservoir is full ; I am not prepared with the necessary calculations. Mr. Rawlinson, after a calculation, said the pressure of water on each valve would be from four to five tons, when the reservoir was full. Mr. Leather's examination resumed—When the water is flowing freely through the pipes they are not likely to sus tain much injury. The opening of the valve would not have a tendency to wrench the joints of the pipes, The pressure lessens as the valve is opened. The Coroner—lt took half an hour to open one of these valves on the night cf the inundation, and there was a shcking and straining Jf the pipe during the opening not felt before or after. That is the reason why I ask the ques tion. What I mean is, would there not be a greater pressure upon the valve when be water was in motion ? Mr. Leather—No. There would be greater disturbancs in the way of noise in opening the valve, but the pressure would diminish as the valve opened. The pipes would run off 10,000 cubic feet of water per minute. Every inch that the water lowered would diminish the pressure upon the embankment. At this rate, 190 hours, or about nine days, would be required to let off the whole of the water, suppos ing there was no addit on. I have not hitherto thought it necesssry to have had more complete control over the water. I did all that I thought necessary to provide against danger. I know of no means of providing against danger except the pipes and bye-wash. There is a drain all round the Red mires dam, but that is for another purpose altogether. The Coroner—Ought you not, as a practical engineer, to minimise the danger at much as possible in making these large reservoirs ? There has been no attempt to minimise the danger here, and there is no use in having an engineer unless he does that. You have had the management of these dams. You have placed a great embankment there, and collected an immense body of water behind it. But even though there wss a suspicion that the embankment might give way, youhave taken no means of taking the water any ether directon, so as to avoid its coming down in one body upon the ?eople of Sheffield. I ask you is it not desirable in such cases that some means should be taken of lessening the danger ? Mr. Leather—l caniot conceive any other way than that adopted. The Coroner—There was not the slightest arrangement made for doing away with the danger; that is what I com plain of. Why, it would have taken eight days to have run off the water in the dam through the pipes, if there had been no influx. The influx of water was so enormous that it would have taken three weeks to run off the water by the pipes. I saw a large cutting near ; could not that have been made available, Mr. Loather ? Mr. Leather—No ; a cutting should be at the bottom of the embankment of a reservoir to relieve it under such cir cumstances, and I know of no means of having such a cutting. The Coroner—Could you net have drawn away any water that reached the puddle without the puddle being injured —drawn away from the outside, I mean ? Mr. Leather—Yes; I do nut know that anything of that sort has been done. The Coroner—lt was no part of your plan to drain the puddle trench ?--No, except during the working. I mean afterwards ?--No; I do nut suppose any would get there afterwards. lam supposing it has. The puddle trench could not be so drained as to prevent water getting there ?—Any water that might get there wculd naturally percolate through the embankment on the lowr side. It would get away with out doing any injury. The Coroner—l am told that water was seen coming from the bottom of ,he embankment sometimes; that might be the reason ?--it might be said that would be the natural result if any water did get into the embankment. Would there not be a greater weight upon the escape pipes in the centre of the embankment than at the edges of it ? The pressure would be ;rester. The embankment was 901 t. high in the centre. If this weight pressed the pipes down at the centre through the puddle it would not necessarily disjoint the pipes. Mr, Rawlinson eallec the attention of the witness to a re.• port published by the a)ciety of Civil Engineers, in which it was stated that pipes aid under an entrenchment occa sionally broke from the )ressure upon them not being equal; and mentioning an instence at Melbourne, where the frac ture had to be repaired ty inserting a line of boiler plating inside. The pipes in Ws case were excellent castings, and had borne a very severe pressure, both externally and in ternally, but ny the weght of the embankment were flat tened and distorted, mo e in the centre than at the sides, because the pressure ws unequal. There was, therefore, a possibility of pipes suVeted to an unequal prossure being injured. Mr. Leather replied tlat the pipes in the case cited by Mr, Rawlinson were laid in the embankment, not in a trough. Those of the Bradfield reservoir were, however, laid in a trench under.the embankment. The cases, therefore, were quite different. The Coroner—But though the trough was made in the natural ground, the pips themselves were laid in an arti ficial ground, which miztat offer more resistance in one part than another. Mr. Leather—There were ISin. of puddle round them, but they would adjust themselves in the puddle. By the Jury—llow do you determine the strength of the embankment ? It was 10 times that of the pressure against it. I cannot tell how touch water would run into the reser voir in 21 hours on a wet day. The pipes had not been examined since the flod. But as there was Ho leakage through or about the ppcs before the accident, and as there was a full flow of water through the pipes when the valves were opened, it is fair ;o presume there was no leakage. I ' have seen the valve work under half the full pressure. Mr. Leather, examned by Mr. Perronet Thompson-1 have been the consulting engineer of the company in reaped, of all their reservoirs. I have not previously had an aeci• dent, though some of the reservoirs are of greater exten than the Bradfield reservoir. The embankment of the upper dam at Redmires is isuch larger. The plans and sections for this and the reservoirs that have stood for years are pre cisely the same in pricciple, and there is a great similarity in situation and materials of some of them. I used all the means known to me is a practical engineer in the construc tion of these dams fo• insuring the security of the work. So far as my observation went, the quality of the work was good throughout. The fact of the public trench being sunk to the depth of 60 feet, although the plans required only 10 feet, is an illustration of the care exercised in providing for the safety of the dam. The specification provided for the trench being made deeper than 10 feet if necessary. The weight of the water is measured by the depth, and not the quantity of the water on the superficia: area, One-fourth the water might have given quite as great a pressure if the depth had been the same. I have not an instance in my experience of pipes carried under the embankment having given way. If the valves of the pipes had in this instance been unable to sustain the weight of water, the only result would have been that the water would have run away ; no damage would have resulted. I have taken all reasonable means to provide against danger. The object of an em bankment is to confine the water, and the business of an engineer is to make his embankment sufficient to resist the pressure of the water against it, not to provide any other mean of letting the water off on the supposition that the embankment is not strong enough. This embankment was sufficient. The puddle wall is the real security of the water. The only object of the embankment is to support the puddle wall, not itself to keep out the water. It is not therefore specially important that the earth of the embankment itself should be such as will keep out water. This puddle wall was 60 feet deep. The pressure of water in the pipes at Sheffield is much greater than in those at Bradfield. By the Coroner—lf an embankment is to support a pud dle wall, and the embankment is sufficiently strong, the puddle bank will, of course, fall. I have examined the em • bankment since the flood, and think it was properly made. Under the lower side there was a footing of stone, to pre vent the embankment slipping. By the Jury—The pipes would be carried through the puddle trench if not through the embankment. They would find that proper precautions had been taken against any settling there, by which it was not likely that the pipes would be broken. By the Coroner —I really do not know the cause of the embankment bursting. I have very great difficulty, indeed, in forming any opinion worth relying upon. I can brut conjectures, and so can anybody else, but they are not worth much. There is a possibility of a landslip under the seat of the embankment having produced it. Ido not believe the embankment itself has slipped, but the stratifiettion beneath it may have slipped• Mr. Rawlinson—You mean that you do net thick the embankment was the firs: to slip ?—That is the more cor rect way of putting it. By the Coroner—A fracture of the pipes has heel sug gested. If the pipes had broken that might have caused it ; but we have no indication of any such breakage. I hazard the conjecture that there has been a landslip leneath the embankment, because we know they do take place; be cause a land slip taken place in this valley below the dam. I am speaking of a slip under the embankment, n)t under the puddle bank. I do not ascribe the bursting of ta e reser voir to unsound principles of engineering or to tad work- manship. By Mr. Rawlinson—A blow would not cause c(pal injury with a crack in the pipe, if such took place. I donot know the maximum volume of water, but it has beer carefully recorded. My view of the way in which a landslip might take place is that the water that naturally percolates into the strata would get between the face of the rok and the bed of clay resting upon it, an- cause the supeincumbe,nt mass to slip off. The water through the fissure would be cut off by the pud lie drain. I have not ex.tnited the bare stratification on the by-wash side of the reservoir since the flood, because I believe if the rock would allowthe water to percolate such water would be cut off by the piddle trench. The Coroner—lf the percolating water was not stopped by the puddle, but went through the rocks ata lower level than the bottom of the puddle trench, woule it not have had the effect of washing down the embankrent on the low side of the puddlebank ? The probability isthat it would find its way to a spring lower down the valid'. I have not seen the embankment of the Rivington Witer Works at Liverpool, lem pot aware that the renrYir bottom there THE SHEFFIELD CALAMITY. ADJOURNED INQUEST. The inquest on the bodies of Thomas Elston and other' was resumed at the Town-hall yesterday. The Coroner (Mr. J. Webster) conducted the inquiry. Among those present were Mr. Robt. Rawlinson, C.E., and Mr. Nathaniel Beardmore,:C,E., from the Home-office ; M. Mille, member of the Legion of Honour, and engineer of bridges and roads to the French Government; Mr. Robert W. E.C., F.R.S., of London; Mr. W. Lindley, C.E. (London), engineer of the Hamburg Sewage and Water Works ; Colonel Ford, of York ; Mr. Perrenet Thompson, barrister, instructed by Messrs. A. Smith and Sons, solid• tors to the Water Company ; and Mr. Wm. Smith, chair. man of the Water Company, The Coroner, in opening the proceedings, 'said the jury were met to inquire how Thomas Elston and others came to their deaths on the 12th inst. He proposed only to direct heir attention to the death of Elston. Separate inquiei ione could afterwards be made with regard to the other deceased without any particular inquiry. Having read the evidence taken on the previous occasion, the coroner added that the course he proposed to take was to examine the en- gineer of the company first, in order to get as far as possible a history of the embankment. If Mr. Leather could not give all the information deemed necessary, he (the coroner) would examine Mr. Gunson, the resident engineer, Mr. Craven, the contractor, and such other witnesses as might be necessary. If their evidence was not satisfactory, he would call Mr. Rawliuson, the Government inspector, and one or two other witnessses who had been engaged in ex- aminin,g the reservoir, who would give their opinions upon the cause of the disaster. That would be the most direct way of getting at what they wished. lie hoped to be able to conclude the inquest that day, but if the witnesses were not all examined by half-past five he would adjourn the proceedings and resume the inquiry this day. The following evidence was then adduced : Mr. John Towlerton, Leather, Leventhorpe, near Leeds. civil engineer, said—l am the consulting engineer of the Sheffield Waterworks Company. I was consulted by the company when they applied to Parliament for powers to make the Bradfield reservoir. I prepared the plans and specifications for its construction. That would be in the year ISSB. Parliamentary plans and sections were deposited in 1852 for this and two otter reservoirs, which we called the Bradfield scheme. I examined the country generally before depositing the plans, to see if water could be obtained. The contract for the Bradfield reservoir was let, I think, in 1858, Originally the embankment was set out lower down the valley than where it is executed. The first embankment was never commenced, because it was found, on trial holes being sunk, that there had been a disturbance of the strata. I then altered my plans for the embankment to be where it now is. I examined the grwund before we commenced mak ing the embankment, and found it to be on the out crop of the coal measures, and at the commencement of the mill- stone grit. The strata consist first of soil, then clay, then stone, then shale, with a Bannister formation and a little coal in the centre of the valley. I had to deal with soil, clay, stone, and shale in the embankment. The only spring I ever saw in the valley was one on the site of the reservoir, a little above the embankment. The first thing in forming the embankment is to sink the puddle trench in the centre of the base. The original plan provides for a puddle bark about Ifift below the surface. In sinking a trench we did not find a good foundation at that depth. It was not suffi ciently water tight. It was th,trefore necessary to sink until we did get to a water tight foundation. We sank to a depth varying from I.Oft to 60ft, and then got a water tight foun dation. A good deal of water came into the puddle trench during the working. Wo got rid of it by pumping. I do not remember what powers the contractor had to pump the water, I came to see the trench, I think twice. I came when I was wanted. I walked over the bottom of the trench when it was finished, and knew it was water-tight. I am not aware that in wet weather the quantity of water in the trench was so great that they could not pump it down. I saw the puddle trench in 1861, and in 1863 I saw the puddle wall. I did not see the puddling of the trench in its progress—at all events not at the lowest point. I did not see the whole of the puddle, but what I did see was well put in, and the work was good. The water was not cut uff altogether from the trench. The trench simply divided the watercourses. The water came into the trench so long as it was open. The bottom of the trench was impervious, but the sides were pervious. The water was not got rid of, but blocked out by the puddle, as is usual. When, therefore, the puddle wall got to a certain height there would be water against it on the upper side. The water that would get through the rock to the puddle wall would not have a tendency to injure it. The object of a puddle wall is to keep out water, and there fore water is always against it in a reservoir. The water rises against the puddle wall, but does not percolate through it. The water was not let off by any natural means ; if it had the puddle wall would not be perfect. As the puddle wall was being constructed, the water rose with it, and was carried away. The embankment across the valley is 418 yards long. It is 500 ft. wide at the base and 12ft. at the top. The inner slope is 21 to 1, and the outer slope the same, The greatest height is 95ft. The puddle is 4ft. wide at the top, and gets wider by 11in. at every foot in depth. Thus, supposing the puddle wall is 95ft. high, it will be 16ft. wide at the base. There is 60ft. of puddle below the surface, mak iug the total depth of the puddle wall 155 ft. The reservoir would contain a little over 114,000,000 cubic feet of water. The surface area of water was about 78 acres. The area of the gathering ground is about 43,000 acres. We got the material for making the embankment from the inside of the reservoir, and in doing so laid bare the rocks. In some places we got a good deal of stone. The embankment is made of stone, clay, shale, and earth. I cannot say how the material was put in. Mr. Gunson was not my servant, He was the resident engineer. He had the snperintendence of the works, and occasionally consulted with me. He could not deviate from my plans. There are two IS-inch pipes from the inside to the outside of the reservoir underneath the embankment. The pipes are about 500 ft long, made up of lengths of 9ft. There would be 55 or 56 lengths. They are joined with sockets and lead in the ordinary way. They are laid in a trench Oft below the surface of the ground. They aro wrapped round with clay puddle to the thickness of, I think, 18 inches, the trench being then filled in. The pipes are laid obliquely, not diagonally, across the embank ment in a straight line. The valves are at the lower end of the pipe, outside the embankment. If one of the pipes were to burst in the centre it would be difficult to get to it to repair it. It would have to be reached by excavations. An instance of that kind occurred in the great dam at Crookes. The pipes were originally of wood. I removed them by excavating, and substituted iron pipes. They would be 30 years ago. The breaking up of one of those pipes would most likely cause serious damage to the embankment. The embankment might possibly fall before we could find out the damage ; I can't tell what might happen. I never knew an instance of that. Ihe pipes were made of double the usual strength. I should think there could not be an unequal pressure upon the pikes from the embankment. Being laid in the solid ground, the weight above could do no harm, unless it was a crush ing pressure. There would not be en unequal pressure upon the pipes so as to raise them at any of the joints or cause them to leak. We can insure a suffici nt equality of material along the whole length of the pipes, for all practi cal purposes. The - Water Company have other dams constructed on the same principle which have been in operation a great number of years. Possibly water from the sources blocked up in filling the puddle trench might get into the pipe trench. If it did it would show itself. If water got in below the pueldle trench it might be dangerous; if above, it would not. It would show itself by percolating to the lower end. Water-mains in streets do not often give way under external pressure. I never knew one break or yield at the joint from external pressure. Dlr• Rawlinson—ls it not a common thing for a new line of mains to have blemished joints and leak? Mr. Leather—The pipes of the company are severely tested before they are put down. Mr, Rawlinson—l saw the testing apparatus, but never theless the question is a proper one. My experience is that they do give way. Mr. Leather—My experience on the contrary is, that they scarcely ever do give way. Examination of Mr. Leather by the Coroner resumed—l never hsard of a pipe giving way on account of water creep ing along the pipe trench. Ido not know there was such a case at Birmingham. It would not have been better to have was quarried the same as ours, and that subsequently a large quantity of water found its way below the stratifica tion of the puddle bank, and leaked out a considerable dis tance below the embankment. I am not aware that any special arrangements were made t 3 prevent the water creep ing alongside the two outlet pipes by putting collars around them, lam not aware that one of the Birmingham reser- voirs six or seven years ago was destroyed by the water creeping along the cast• iron pipe and blowing a hole through the embankment like a tunnel. I should think in any such ease it would be detected by a previous leakage. lam not aware that a considerable body of water was issuing under the side wall below the embankment before the bursting of the embankment. Ido not know how long a pipe such as the outlet pipes would last. Everything will come to de struction sooner or later. Ido not know how far the two pipes were placed apart, John Gunson—l am the acting engineer for the Sheffield Water Works Company, and have bad the construction of the Bradford Reservoir from the plans of Mr. Leather. The embankment was made in the usual way, but it was found necessary to dig the puddle trench deeper than we origin ally intended, the reason being that there was so much water. We went to a depth of 60 feet. There was a very large flow of water, which was pumped out by two engines, one of them working a 12-inch pipe and a 13-inch pipe. The other pumped two 12-inch pipes. Together they would be about 20-horse power, and they were kept constantly working for nearly two years. This shoves that a large body of water came through the rocks to the puddle. We gotlrid of the water by pumping it out. The water originally came out of the reservoir, about 100 yards north TA' the embank ment. It was caused by a fault or throw of the rock, and came away from the tops of the hills, perhaps miles away. When we got the puddle trench In, that was an effectual barrier, and the water from that spring was thrown back into the reservoir. The puddle trench was cut and worked in the ordinary way. When we got above the level of the spring the consequence was of course that the water had to make its way back again. The trench laid for the pipes was 9ft. or 10ft. wide, and perhaps the depth was equal to the width, but ran up considerably less. The pipes were laid in puddle, at a distance from each other of 2ft. 6in. The depth of the puddle above and beiow the pipes was 18in. It was the same kind of puddle as the puddle-wall—the best. The trench was filled up with the best material, thin layers of gravel, and very solid. We put in the materials of the embankment in layers or tips. There were - bartows used, three-wheeled carts, two-wheeled carts, and waggons. We did not take the material for the embankment indiscri- minately from the banks of the reservoir, and tip it on toe embankment. First, 24,000 cubic yards entirely of stone was placed on the outward slope of the bank, the stone form ing an embankment itself up to within 50ft of the top of the embankment. The object was to prevent the embankment slipping on the surface it was placed on ; and to get that. done effectually we paid 3d per yard additional for the work. The next process was so to lay the material that the finer sort came up to the puddle wall. The work was somewhat similar to that which is going on at present at the Agden reservoir. The material is also generally the same—fit, I consider, for the work which it had to do. [Plans showing the course of the pipes were here produced, and handed for the inspection of the jury.] Great precautions were taken in laying the pipes in the puddle french. The puddle trench was 40ft or 50ft below where the pipes went. The pipe trench was about 9ft below the surface. About a couple of lengths of pipe went through the puddle trench proper. My fear was if nothing was provided, the puddle in the puddle trench being deeper than in the pipe trench, it might sink; and so we made a special arrangement for the protection of the pipes, by an extension of the width of the puddle wall. This was done to the extent of something like 100 ft on either side. The pipes being socket pipes, they would admit of some small degree of inflection without breaking. The pipes were inserted about six inches into each other, lead being used for from three to four inches. The pipes were laid in good strong shale, not compressible by pressure. No water could possibly creep along the pipes. The sockets of the pipes were cast a little large back than they were in the front, so that the internal pressure of the water should not force the lead out, To do so it would have had to act as against a wedge. There were no collars put upon the pipes to prevent the water creeping along—the sockets of the pipes themselves formed collars, and they were very strong ones. The lines of pipes were 2ft Gin apart. The sockets were so large that had they been placed opposite it would have reduced the puddle to that extent—so I ad vanced one line of pipes a yard above the other. The Court at this stage of the inquiry adjourned for half an hour. Mr. Gunson recalled and examined by the Coroner—The Parliamentary plans are not here, only the working ones. The former can be given to Mr. Rawlinson. The plans car ried out were not precisely the same as the Parliamentary plans. We discovered that the ground where we first in tended to put the embankment was faulty; there had been what we call a landslip. I should say that landslip was some hundred years old. I did not observe it first: After I discovered it would not be safe I saw Mr. Leather, and he gave directions that it should be made where it is. We had not begun the work at the first embankment, but the contracts were let. The rainfall of that district from 1859 was as follows :-1859, 46'055 inches ; 1860, 44'280 ; 1861, 37'940 ; 1562, 401060 ; 1863, 40100. The smallest flow of water in the summer is halt a cubic foot per second for each thousand acres of the watershed, and the maximum 150 cubic feet per second per thousand acres. The gauge was placed in the Rivelin valley before we went to Parliament, and when we got the Act I had it reconstructed. It was 18ft wide. The heaviest flood we have had occurred in August, 1856. The overflow was 60 inches, and it took away the gauge. The gauge was kept at Bedenires, about 1,200 ft above the level of the sea. On the south side of the dam we have en artificial cutting. That was to divert the stream during the construction of the re servoir, and we used till about a year ago. The embank ment was finished before then, with the exception of where the weiring is at the south end, which is not finished yet. Some of the materials got out of the cutting might be brought into the embankment, others washed away. In Aug.t 1856, we had 9 in. of rain—the highest quantity in any month. It would take 14 or 15 inches to fill the reservoir, so no flood could materially affect it. When we bared the rock we had no apprehension that mischief could arise; and I was per fectly satisfied that no water coming from the rocks could in jure the embankment, because we sunk the puddle trench far down into the rock below any excavations ia the reservoir. It was put down into measures quite impervious to water. The water seen coming out of the rocks where the reservoir has been flows into the river. It is possible it might drain into the embankment, but it would be stopped by our puddle. It was not at all a hazardous proceeding to bare those rocks. We might have got material elsewhere to make the em bankment if we had bought 100 acres of land for the pur pose. There are about 400,000 cubic yards in the embank ment. We should not have required, 100 acres if the ma terial was anything like. I cannot say how many acres of the rock we have bared ; eight or ten, I should guess. We •did not find all the material for the embankment in the baring of the rock. By Mr. Rawlinson—l intended to make an opening 60ft. long in the by-wash, There was a drop in the by-wash which would have let all the water of that breadth to go off. We were not able to make the breach in the by-wash. I heard the shot go off atter the embankment had burst. The water lowered rapidly in the meantime, though I did not see how much. Mr. Gunson explained that he never apprehended danger until he saw the water dashing over the embankment, and that he thereupon sent persons to warn the nearest resi dents. He had no time to warn anybody lower down. Before the jury separated, .Mr. Rawlinson, Government Inspector, said some calculations had been prepared with regard to the flood. The total fall from the dam-head to 0 wlerton was 4501 t,, or 72ft. per mile. The velocity between those points of the flood was 18 miles per hour, showing that the water passed at the rate of 261tt, per second. The average area of the cross sections of the flood between the same points was 3,780 feet, showing that 40,170 cubic feet of water passed per second. At this rate the reservoir would empty itself in 47 minutes ; the weight of water was 3,250,000 tons. After the dam broke, a Derby horse could not have carried the warning down the valley in time to be of service. The inquest was than adjourned until Thursday. ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE, OXFORD CIRCUIT.—HEREFORD, March 23. - CROWS COURT. (Before Mr. Baron Pigott.) THE HENNOR MURDER. Thomas Watkins was indicted for wilfully, and of malice aforethought, killing and murdering Mary Ann Watkins, his wife, at Hennor, near Leomin ster, in this county, on the 18th of January last. Mr. Cooke and Mr. Matthews conducted the pro secution, and Mr. Wightman defended the prisoner. When the prisoner was arraigned yesterday he pleaded guilty, but by his lordship's advice he after wards withdrew the plea, and the trial was fixed for this morning. The trial occupied most of the day, but the facts, as elicited in evidence, lie in a narrow compass. It appeared that the prisoner had led a dissolute life, and had separated from his wife, who earned a living by going out washing and ironing. The deceased lived with a cottager named Smith, and some time before the murder the prisoner had said to Smith that he " should like to be the death of his wife and of one or two others." The deceased, too, was afraid of being out at night in consequence of the threats that her husband had used towards her. On Monday, the 18th of January, the deceased went to do a day's wash ing at the house of James Lane at Hennor, and left Lane's house to go home at about six o'clock in the evening. When she left Lane's she said she did not much like going home by herself for fear of meeting her husband. The poor creature never reached her home that night, but between 10 and 11 o'clock, as a witness, named David Lipscombe, was passing through an orchard on his way home, a short distance from Lane's house, he heard groans proceeding from the other side of hedge. He got through a fence, and following the direction of the sound soon came up with the poor woman, whom he found lying on the ground in a pool of blood which had flowed from several frightful cuts in her head. Lipscombe placed the woman in a position in which she could breathe more freely, and having obtained assistance, she was carried to the union workhouse, where she died. Next morning at daylight an examination was made of the locality of the murder, and traces were found of a person wearing clogs of a peculiar make. The prisoner was suspected of being concerned in the murder, and it was ascertained that he had been in the neighbourhood on the evening of the murder. Between five and six o'clock he called at a house about a mile and a half from Lane's, and about nine he was at another house about a quarter of a mile from where the murder was com mitted. Ho then wore clogs, and said he was going to Smith's to ask his wife to go and live with him. As he left he said, " Good night; perhaps I shall never see you again." A day or two afterwards the prisoner was apprehended, and, being charged with the murder, answered, " Well, I did not do it." A number of witnesses were examined to prove the above facts. It was shown that on the night of the murder the prisoner called at several cottages distant from half a mile to two miles from Hennor, with no apparent object. He talked of his wife's conduct, and said she had been unfaithful to him during his 4133eucv, he haying been for four years away, having enlisted as a marine. About Christ mas he deserted, and came dawn to the neighbour hood of Leominster. For the defence it was contended that the act was only one of manslaughter. His lordship summed up with great care and minuteness, and The jary, after a short consultation, returned a verdict of guilty amidst a deep silence. His lordship then passed the awful sentence of death in the usual manner. The court was crowded all day, and the prisoner bore the trial with great fortitude. WESTERN CIRCUIT.—TAUNTON, March 23. (Before Mr. Baron Martin.) James Howell, 32, labourer, was indicted for the wilful murder of Susan Cleverly, at Bath. Mr. J. W. Saunders and Mr. Bailey prosecuted. The prisoner was undefended. It appeared from the evidence of several wit nesses that the prisoner cohabited with deceased at a lodging-house in Little Corn-street, Bath, and early on the morning of Tuesday, the 16th of February, cries of " Murder" were heard coming from the room in which they lived. Marsh, the man who kept the house, and Police-constable James went to the room, and they found the poor woman seriously injured, and complaining of the prisoner's violence. The deceased at first threatened to give him into custody, but subsequently declined, saying that she should be murdered if she did. A woman who lived underneath, and other wit nesses deposed to having heard noises in the pri soner's roam, as of same one jumping upon another. The deceased, who was pregnant, was removed to another house, and she died on the Sunday follow. ing. The post-mortem examination proved the death of the woman to have resulted from internal disease, caused by the external injuries which were apparent. The jury found the prisoner guilty of man slaughter. It appeared that he had been previously tried for the murder of a woman with whom he cohabited, found guilty of manslaughter, and sentenced to six years' penal servitude. His lordship now sentenced him to penal servi tude for life. SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. TIMES.—It is very remarkable that at this momen the most conspicuous result of the American war is a gradual elevation of the b l a ck race in social and political position. The Northern people, as a body, though they have obviously learnt a species of tole ration for the coloured race, are probably not more solicitous than formerly for the welfare or emanci pation of the negro ; . but, as happens in all revolu tions, the most thoroughgoing party has prove d the most enduring, and that party is the Abolit ionist party. It was pointed out at a very early period of the war that slavery could hardly escape from the double danger with which it was threatened : lithe Federals were victorious, they could deal with the institutions as they pleased ; it the Confederates established their independence, a free soil would bound their territory, and any slave by crossing the frontier could assert his freedom. Something akin to this process has now been long going on. Many negroes have actually taken refuge on Northern soil ; many more, though still on Southern soil, have been enabled by the presence of Federal armies to escape from slavery. In the border counties, indeed, slavery may be said to have been abolished though slaves in great numbers still remain, but it has not been found necessary in any of those territories to resort to such edicts as that of General Banks in Louisiana. Icy justice also to the Abolitionists, it must be confessed that the extreme representatives of their party are consistent in their views. They do not, while as serting the rights of the negro, condemn him to social proscription. They accept the logical consequences of his emancipation, and have even astonished the world by the completeness of the recognition which they have recently announced, and which our correspondence so vividly portrays. It still remains to be seen, however, what part the Southern people will take in the question thus developed. If the war, as some Northern writers tell us, and as appears by no means improbable, is henceforth to be prosecuted with armies of blacks, it is obvious that the superiority of re sources will now, for the first time, be on the side of the South. If by men is meant black men, the Con federates are stronger than the Federals, for there is no reason to presume that the Southern negroes will refuse to fight on the side of their masters. lii any case, however, their position must be materially affected, and it is certainly remarkable that the only result of this extraordivary war as yet visible should be the gradual subversion of that institution which, if it was the remote cause of strife, was forgotten in the first hours of conflict. Three years ago the Federal Government made no secret of its willing ness to give every satisfaction to the slaveholders of the South on condition of resn:ning their allegiance. In all probability the great majority of the Federal people would still be ready to make peace on the same terms, but such a policy is neceeorilflacking in vigour, and while the Democrats hesitate to avow their pacific sentiments the more zealous Ateelition ists have carried their standards to the front. In the meantime, by the mere course of events, the black man is pushing his way to a new position. In the North, though still rejected by the bulk of the population, he is encouraged and favoured by a determined faction, and has become necessary to all. In the South he is invited by the invaders to quit the state of slavery, and has actually the option over a considerable portion of Confederate territory of becoming what he was not before. It is not much, perhaps, to be promoted from slavery to serfdom, but it is a move, nevertheless, and when once accom plished will be hard to reverse. We do not see, in fact, how slavery, thus dealt with on all sides, can either remain what it is or become again what it was, and that is one of the least unsatisfactory pros pects of this terrible war.' HERALD.—The anxiety of Lord Palmerston to satisfy the Government of Louis Philippe in 1840, not only that he had not connived at the Boulogne expedition, but that neither he nor Lord Melbourne had for years set eyes upon " that madman" Louis Napoleon, is hardly reconcileable with the readi ness with which the noble lord has vindicated and assumed the whole responsibility for Mr. Stansfeld's intimate connection with the plotters against the life of Louis Napoleon, the Emperor of the French. There was then nothing but an insinuation, which the noble load could have afforded to despise. Had he seen Louis Napoleon, who enjoyed a good social position in this country a short time before the ex pedition, there would have been nothing in it to justify complaint from the French Government. But the canards of French newspapers were suffi cient cause to induce the noble lord to deny in the official newspaper that he had called upon the Prince, and send for the French Minister to give him the most emphatic and detailed denial that he had the slightest knowledge of the conspirators against France. We applaud the anxiety, worthy of an English Minister, to repudiate all part, even the remotest , and most indirect, in conspiracies against a friendly Government. How is it that we find a Minister, then so extremely susceptible, now not only refusing to give the French Government an explanation in a much more serious matter, but wantonly and offensively assuming the responsibi lity of aiding and abetting conspiracies against the lire of a friendly sovereign ? Upon prisoners arrested in Paris, in whose luggage were found weapons in tended, as they confessed, for the murder of the Em peror Napoleon, were found papers implicating Ma z zini as the organiser of the insurrection, and instruct ing his instruments to communicate with him at the house of Mr. Stansfeld. These facts are men tioned at the trial. The Procureur General ex presses his surprise and regret that a member of the English Parliament should assist such scoun drels, bat he observes that this member of Parlia ment had been mixed up in a previous conspiracy against the life of the Emperor. Now, here was a case against Mr. Stansfeld, infinitely plainer and of far greater gravity than that which Lord Palmer ston was so eager to explain away, and Mr. Stens feld, to do him justice, seems to have felt that he had committed an indiscretion which made it im possible for him to remain a Minister of the Crown. He offered his resignation. Lord Palmerston, however, refused to accept it, and the result was that Mr. Stansfeld, emboldened by the support of his chief, refused to give any explanation, and pro nounced a glowing eulogium upon the arch-revolu tionist and apostle of the dagger. The House of Commons was not to bo put off thus easily, and Mr. Stansfeld was compelled to explain; and the Go vernment was only saved from defeat by the pathetic appeals not to spoil the young man's prospects with which the supporters of the Government accom panied their acknowledgments of his indiscretion. Lord Palmerston alone refused to express regret, and boldly, tauntingly, assumed the responsibility of Mr. Stan sfeld's friendship with Mazzini, and his unintentional plots of the Italian revolutionist against the Emper or ' s lif e . It has been said that a man body changes altogether in seven years, and that at the end of that period it contains not the smallest fraction of the substances with which it commenced the sept e nniad. Thrice seven years have passed since Lord Palmerston showed himself so anxious for his honour to these days in which he eagerly accepts the responsibility of harbouring and assisting assassins. Are we to suppose that his mind has been changed with his body, and as each set of framework has given place to a weaker and a worse, so the mind of the noble lord has in each change lost something of its sense of honour, until now it can accept without difficulty the scandalous part which the Premier has undertaken; orshall we a82111:120 that Lord Palmerston wets al indifferent then as now to his own and his count Ty' s honour, but that his chief, Lord Melbourne, co swelled him to offer Baron de Bourqueney these e: tplana'ions ? Or is the Premier offended with that distrr j at, the creation of his own policy, which has 5120 'n itself in the refusal of the Emperor to draw t L d chesnuts out of the Dano-German fire for Engl ? And would he take the small satisfaction of a feeble mind by telling the Emperor that,. as . 1 ne does not choose to help the English Ministry out of the scrape into which their folly, inarerl inence, and cowardice have got them, his would-be , assassins and the patrons of those assassins shall 13 ,, :a taken under the protection of the English Ministr y ? Whatever the motives which have actuated the remier in re fusing Mr. Stansfeld's resignation, • 3n d accepting, for the whole Government, the respo risibility of hie relations with Mazzini and Mazzini's band of asses' sins, the consequences cannot fail to be most injuri' ous to that alliance for which Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Bright profess to be so anxious. The Emperor is the sincerest and best friend e f the English alliance in Fiance; he knows its i m mense value; he appreciates its undoubted power to preserve the peace of Europe and to secure th e t tai ,elopment o f material progress.. To maintain it t e has made many sacrifices. Often since he he sbe en upon the throne he restrained the national hat red of Eer land, and it is of the greatest importat ice that be should continue to do so until a party ii formed in France which, forgetting old rancours, will recog" nise as well as the Emperor the vat ' . ue of the alliance. If, however, the English Go vernniat will take every opportunity of wantonly insul Ling the Emperor; if the Premier, instead of 4110'74 1 4 a member of his Ministry, whose ind iscr etion had mixed him up in a plot against th a :life Of the Emperor, to resign, keeps him i a office , assumes the whole responsibility of I its acts, jauntily declaring, in fact, to France ant I Europe that it is compatible with the honour of an Eng; lish Minister to be the friend and pr 3tector of men whose lives are spent in organising attempts for the murder of the Emperor, it wi II be liar possible for the Emperor to reta,in friend' ship for England—impossible to rest rain the nem ral indignation of his people. Already seriously shaken, the Anglo-French alliance wil, 7 l soon, if Lords Palmerston and Russell remain in power, be at an en`—at an end not because thei ntei .eats of the two countries ran counter, not becatu la 7 France in: sisted upon pursuing a policy whic h threatened English interests or offended English f eel ing, but et an end because the English Ministers ware discour• teous, insulting, and insidiously host ile. Of what value the cordial co-operation of Fra ace and Eng' land is we see now, when the want of it has per mitted the Schleswig-Holstein controversy to break out into a war, which threatens to become general. The Ministry profess to feel the value of what their have done so much to destroy ; but t iespairing of succeeaing in repairing their fault, th, ay, with the assistance and approbation of Mr. I trl ght, display their spite and annoyance by a policy' which cannot fail, if pursued a little longer, to suitatitute open hostilities for the alliance. COUNTRY MARKET'', 3. -.~M__„ LYNN—TUESDAY. At to-day's market there was a fair atten dance, with an, average show of wheat, and the prices of lits, t week decline , ' is to 2s per qr. Other articles unaltered. White wheat 40s to 44s Barley ...... 34s to 3 6 g Itcd 4os to 41s Grinding.... 39s to 32J I Beans .32s to 31s Oats.. ..... ......18s to 21a Small 34s to 36s Peas HULL—TUESDAY. At to-day's market there was a small stti)ply of English wheat, for which needy miilers paid last we ek's full rates; in foreign there was nothing doing, as holders refused to accept the rates offered by buyers. Fine m? siting barley i° better request, but grinding neglected. Beans and peag easier to buy, but not lower in price. Oats held firmly 0 former rates. 03 Wheat.... Old white.... per qr 42s Od to 44s ~A Old red New white .. ~ New red .... „ Barley.... English malting 27s Od to 348 ()) Grinding 24s Od to 25s 63 Saal and Oderbruck Holstein and Danish 3os Od to 31s 04 Grinding 28s 22s OO cl d t to o - 315 24; (1 Oats English, old Archangel and Riga ' per st.. 08121 d to 13a Friesland and Dutch osl3d to 031 3 , Swedish and Danish osl2id to °sr . ?, Beans ....English, old, per qr ... .. 40s Od to 435 Od New pigeon 42s Od to 44s C'; New tick Egyptian .. 30s Od to 3 3 s 6 , 3 Peas .. Foreign boilers .. 33s Od tc 34 $ v,, a Grinding Tares ....Spring —s Od to —s Od 0 0 99 3 Indian Corn Linseed, feeding SGS °II A crushing . 4os Od to 5 0 Linseed cakes (Hull) £9 10 0 to I 9 15 0 Foreign: Bl5 oto 9 0 0 Rape cakes 5lO 0 to, 0 0 0 Bones 5 5 oto 510 MELTON MOWBRAY—TUESDAY. The following were the currencies :—New white wheat!. 43s Od to 46s Od ; new red, 36s Od to 42s per 36 stone! beans, 40s to 42s for old ; new sorts, 34s to 37s per 3S et: barley, 34s to 37s for malting, and 28s to 30s p,,?.r qr. t'„ grinding; new oats, 19s to 23s_0d per 24 stone; old, 2 1 ' to 28s. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton ..April 15 : via Marseilles April 11 Brazil and Cape Verds, by British packet. April:b. Cape of Good Hope, Ascension, and St. Helena Mar. 3 ,,°' O nina, Penang-, and Singapore, via Southsmpton.Apra n t' via Marseilles Mar- ou' Falkland Islands (3ibraltar, via Southampton . Mar. 0. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, viu Southampton.. April via Marseilles.... Mar. 1,,a4 India (Bombay), via Southampton Mar. W,,;_ via Marseilles Mar. . 4 Portugal.... '.[alts, Egypt, and Aden, via Southampton Mar.isfar. ` 2 ' l' via Marseilles Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo .. . U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet......M AP a r r. il:43 ~.. . by U.S. packet.... ~,, by Canadian packet.M pri ar., i o W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe „ . Al Bahamas, via New York April 11.,. Mexico.. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, $ M ar , SO California. and British Columbia.. Persons who have been in the habit of paying weekly a° borrowers of Sewing Machines will do well to apply at on e and become members of Messrs. Watts and Co.'s Se w Machine Clubs. By so doing they will not only save 1; money they now foolishly throw away, but at the same tile; secure to themselves the possession of one of the best a° most celebrated sewing machines in the world. Every formation giien on application; or by letter addressed, ta , a stamped envelope, to Messrs. Watts and Co., 12, Beitefo,,nr buildings, Strand, London, W.C., where mem rs ar e • . aolled daily between 10 and 4; Saturdays, 10 and% •liool [ADVERTISEMENT.]—Consumption, all nervous, liver, and stomach complaints, in every stage, are only gravated and accelerated by drugs of every description , b t , perfectly curable by Du Barry's health restoring Revaletd Arabica Food, as proved by thousands of cases which 11 ;4 been considered hopeless. We quote a few.—Cure No. 61 .7 Miss Lange, 18 years of age, cured after the medical men Peoic abandoned all hopes of her recovery from the last stag e 0 pulmonary consumption, with fearful cough, expectorat ie , exhaustion, spitting of blood, perspirations, hollow cil e t emaciated to a skeleton. She is now, thank God, a pale healthy, blooming, fleshy girl.—N. Lange, C omm issaire i 4 Police. Cure, No. 45,270. Mr. James Roberts, of Friel,e; Surrey, of thirty years' diseased lungs, spitting of b100d,.1.1,', derangement, and partial deafness.—Cure, No. 47,121. 0 Elizabeth Jganha. of extreme nervousness, indig eetl rio gatherings, low spirits, and nervousfancies.—Lure , 54,818. The Rev. James T. Campbell, Fakenham, Ner i° 4o i of indigestion and torpidity of the liver, which had ree le ,:p all medical reatment. In tins, 11b, 2s 9d; 21b, 4s 6d; 'l.l 11s; 121 b, 225; 241 b, 40s. Barry du Barry and Co., I I() ; i ll Regent-street, London ; also Fortnum and Mason; a ll 7 O O grocers and 'chemists in every town of the United King' London: Printed and Pr'.. , :ished by IVILLIAINIAS9.,iO.I: of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at TnE Sufti 01110 ' of / Strand, in the Precinct of the 3avoy, in the Initil"94'7Tl4l3l73cleY Births. BERNITIRD.—On the 22d inst. , at Marshgate, Rich o— wife of L. Bernhard, Esq., of a son. ch.) GRANT.—On the 18th ult,, at Bombay, the wife of Grant, of a daughter. OGILVY.—On the 22d inst., at Baldovan House, D a--, a the Hon. Mrs. Ogilvy, of a daughter. te as WATTS.—On the 21st lust., at 35, Belize-park, HaraP the wife of W. Manning Watts, Esq., of a daught e.. Marriages. DAVIS—DALE.—On the 22d inst., at Holy Trinity C e? Islington, George Davis, Esq., of Sylva House, 10 ham, Surrey, to Christiana, second daughter of al e Henry Dale, Esq., of Islington. ya MORLEY—ANSDELL.—On the 19th inst., at St. Bs r 1 Kensington. William W. Morley, Es., of Binc l "0 to Maria, the eldest daughter of Richard Ansdell, A.R.A., of Kensington. Deaths. BALL.—On the 22d inst., at Ranelagh, near Dublin, sc, Wm. H. Ball, D.L., of Fort Fergus, in the al l/ Clare, aged 68. S utte e CLARKE.—On the 21st inst., at Knedlington, Joh n land Clarke, M.A. ELsAM.—On the 21st inst., at Boston, Lincolußbire' Elsam, Esq. tl GIBBS.—On the 22d inst., at Clifton Hampden , 01t Rev. Joseph Gibbs, aged 63. f rlo c HINGESTON.—On the 22d inst., at 2, Scarsdale•.e„jo Kensington, Samuel Hingeston, Esq., barr ister ' aged 59, ilif MILLER.—On the 22d inst., at Croydon, Mrs. Henri aged 58. • bto SURTEES.—On the morning of the 16th inst. , at Bri°oo Robert Smith Surtees, Esq , of Hamsterley of Durham, in his 60th year.